New Camp For Kids Starts Today

Today marks the beginning of yet another service for members of Northland Country Club...it's the first day of Ladies Golf/Kids Camp.
The new camp is designed for children between 5 - 10 years of age, offering them the opportunity to get to know others of their age while learning golf, tennis and swimming skills. While the kids are at the camp, their mothers have the opportunity to play 9-holes of golf and socialize with others.
The day begins at 9:30 with lessons on the golf practice range, continues with tennis lessons at 10:30 and ends with swimming lessons, games and crafts from 11:30 until 1:30.
This service is free to women who join the 9-hole golf group. Members are responsible for providing lunch for their children; food service is available at the pool with a children's menu.
For more information, please contact Jennifer Pillsbury at the pool or call the Northland office at 525.1941. Reservations are accepted and encouraged one week in advance.

Board Of Directors Meets Tonight

The Board of Directors of Northland Country Club will hold its monthly meeting tonight beginning at 5:30 in the clubhouse. Among the agenda items:
Clubhouse Manager Gary Schneider will have an update on the first full month of activity in the new building.
Dr. Tim Smith, chair of the Green Committee, and Superintendent Chris Tritabaugh will provide a review of conditions on the golf course. In the past few weeks, Northland has been visited by several golf course raters for major publications, including a representative with Golf Digest late last week.

Still Some Openings For Men's Invitational

Just over a week remains until the start of the 2007 Men's Invitational Tournament, enough time for you and a guest - or several - to register for the event...if you haven't already.
Pro Joe O'Connor says about 70 Northland members have already committed to playing this year. The club's goal is to have a field of 190 golfers ready to play their qualifying round on Thursday, August 9.
Last year's winners were Dan Moline and Ron Johnson (Senior Division).

NO PARKING On Wednesday Until Late Afternoon

Northland's parking lot will receive a second coat of asphalt on Wednesday. Until work is completed, members and guests are requested to park on Superior Street. The work is expected to take just a few hours to complete - parking will be permitted again late Wednesday afternoon.

Nelsons Win Mr & Mrs - Whittaker Repeats As Arrowhead Invitational Senior Champ

Congratulations go out to Charlie and Susan Nelson for winning the Mr & Mrs Club Championship event on Sunday.
And, congratulations to David Whittaker who won a second straight Arrowhead Invitational Senior Championship played at Ridgeview Country Club. Whittaker beat Jim Abelsen in the semi-finals and Cliff Ashby in the finals.

Chamber Of Commerce Takes Over NCC

A field of 275 golfers will take over Northland beginning at 7am this morning for the annual Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce outing. All tee times will be filled today as play will also continue with a second group of golfers at 1:30pm.

Don't Forget Breakfast At NCC

Answer To What's This

This picture (see larger photo below - or click this image to expand) shows two soil sample cores taken from #15 fairway. The top core is taken from an area between aerification holes. You can see this core is completely intact. The top 1.5 to 2 inches is the thatch we are working to remove. The rest of the core is the clay sub-soil. If you could feel this core you would feel it is extremely hard. You can imagine how difficult it is for air, water, nutrients, and roots the penetrate this soil.
The bottom core sample is taken directly from a hole made by our aerifier. You can clearly see how this core has been broken up by aerification process. Air, water, nutrients, and roots can all penetrate this area quite easily creating turf which is healthier and better able to stand up to difficult conditions.

Landscaping Continues - Perfect Time For Rain - New Area For Fire-Pit Set

Crews were on Northland today continuing the process of laying new sod on the areas around the clubhouse that were disturbed during the construction of the new clubhouse. The timing could not have been better. The new sod was laid in place just before torrential rains hit the area. More on that in just a moment, As you can see in the photo above, the area for the new fire-pit (brick circle) at Northland has also been put in place. More news about the fire-pit will come in the days ahead,
So, what about the heavy rains today that forced the cancellation of men's league? Well, here's a video from outside the men's locker facility at the height of the storm.

Few Practice Times For Men's Invite Available

Have you taken a moment to sign up for a practice time on Wednesday, August 8 in preparation for the Men's Invitational? A check on ForeTees indicates few times are still available. You can enter the ForeTees site by clicking on the image at the top right hand side of this page (some of you will find the image at the bottom of your screen). If you haven't yet registered for ForeTees you can still call the pro shop to add your name to the tee sheet - or to receive instructions on how to use the new online reservation system.

Men's League Faces Rain-Out

Here's a link to National Weather Service radar that indicates a strong line of thunderstorms is moving towards Duluth - possibly in time for the start of Men's League at 1:30. You'll need to click on Auto Update to receive the latest images.

What's This?

We'll have an explanation for this photo shortly.

Sue Liberty Wins Her 9th Women's Invitational

Sue Liberty (right) is the 2007 Northland Women's Invitational Champion and is shown above accepting the Championship Trophy from Tournament Chair Pat Fride.
Today's victory was the 9th time Liberty has won the championship. Only Leo Spooner has won more invitational tournaments; Mr. Spooner won the men's event 10 times.
Today's victory was not without some tense moments at the end. In the photo at the right, Liberty watches as Ann Zahn makes par on #14. Just moments later, Liberty, who had driven into the fairway bunker and reached the green in three, missed her 6 foot putt for bogey, narrowing the gap between the two. Kate Johnson, also playing in the final group also made par and was closing the gap with Liberty.

On #15, Moline ran into more trouble, hitting her second shot into the left front bunker from just 90 yards off the green. Her third shot (shown at the right) sailed over the green. Zahn and Johnson each made par and closed the gap between themselves and Liberty again.

Liberty put some distance between her two closest challengers on 16 when she chipped in for a birdie. She followed with a par on 17 and closed out the competition on 18 when she was able to make a bogey after three putting.
Liberty opened the tournament with a 5-over par 76 and ended with an 80 today, shooting 37 on the front nine and 43 on the back side. Meanwhile, Zahn and Johnson were forced to play sudden death for second place. Zahn prevailed on the second extra hole.
Following the tournament, Liberty talked about what winning for the 9th time meant to her and whether this was more special than any of the other victories. ((click image to hear the interview))

Liberty Leads Women's Invitational - Only Player To Break 80 On First Day

Sue Liberty of Northland Country Club turned in a 5 over par 76 today to lead the field of 88 women playing in the Northland Women's Invitational Golf Tournament; the eight-time champion was the only player today to record a score in the 70s.
This is the 46th playing of the women's invitational. Defending champion Jo-Ann Lindsay is not entered in the field.
Liberty will play in the final group on Wednesday with Kate Johnson (80), Kris Wessinger (81) and Ann Zahn (82).
Other women playing in the Championship Flight include, Paige Broman (83), Lisa Moline (84), Karen Saarimaki (84) and Laura Olin (85).
Play began at 7am this morning with temperatures hitting near 90 degrees before play was completed. The forecasted high for tomorrow is also near 90 degrees.
The women tee off on Wednesday at 8am with a shotgun start.

Women's Invite Tuesday - Wednesday

A field of 90 women from across the region are entered in the 2007 Northland Country Club Women's Invitational Tournament.
Many of the participants got in some practice on the course today.
Play begins on Tuesday at 7am and continues with an 8am shotgun start on Wednesday.
We'll have expanded coverage beginning Tuesday.

Asst.Supt. Takes New Job - Course Condition Update Draws Blog's First Comparison To Couch Potatoes

Superintendent Chris Tritabaugh has sent the following email to members this morning:

My first order of business today is to make a couple of announcements. Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Tracy Pearson has accepted the Golf Course Superintendent position at Lester Park and will be leaving us on the 31st of this month. Tracy has done a wonderful job at Northland and the help he has given me this season has been invaluable. Congratulations Tracy and good luck! I have posted the opening with the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents Association and hopefully we will have a new Assistant Superintendent on board soon.

The second announcement is #16 green is now being mowed at the same height as the rest of the greens.

I also wanted to take some time today to give you an update on the course conditions. My last email talked about the fact we are keeping the course drier this year in order to maintain firm and fast playing conditions. I believe there is one big misconception out there regarding these conditions. This is that we are not watering the golf course at all. While we are still watering the course those watering methods have been changed to encourage deeper rooting and stronger plants. Another part of creating stronger plants is the fairway spiking we did a few weeks ago. When we did the spiking we could not have known we would go most of the past three weeks without rain. The lack of rain has caused the healing process to be much slower then I would have liked. Many of you have probably noticed tees are not up to par with the rest of the golf course. The tees have not responded to our new watering methods as well as other areas of the course. Part of the problem is the design and coverage of the irrigation on the tees is quite poor. We are working on these problems and the condition of the tees will improve.

In my continued efforts to educate the members on how we are maintaining the course I thought it might be helpful to use an analogy to describe what we are doing to the turf at Northland Country Club. Much like people turfgrass is a product of its culture. Even though the turf on the fairways is a similar type to the turf on the greens you cannot simply mow a fairway at green height and have it be a putting green. The turf must be cultured over a period of time in order to become a putting green. While we are not turning our fairways into putting greens we are working to improve their condition and it does take some time. Lets think of the turf at Northland as a person we would like to become a world-class athlete. You cannot just pull someone of the couch and instantly they become a world-class athlete. It takes training and time to get the person to a world-class level. In the past the turf at Northland was given all the food and water it needed. It didn't have to make any sort of effort to be nourished. The turf was kind of like a couch potato. While the turf may have appeared healthy when times got tough and the conditions caused the turf to become stressed it simply gave up. It would either die or become weak and susceptible to disease. By reducing fertilizer and water usage we are forcing the turf to work for its nourishment. The strong turf is growing deeper and stronger root systems in order to find the fertilizer and water we are applying to the course. The weaker turf is giving up and being taken over by the stronger turf. By using these methods we are conditioning our turf to be stronger thereby making it better able to withstand drought, disease, and our tough winter conditions. This process will take some time but I am already noticing turf that is much healthier than it was before. The term, "No pain-no gain" is just as meaningful for training world-class turf as it is for training world-class athletes.

As always, I welcome any of your questions or comments. I can be reached by email at ctritabaugh@northlandcountryclub.com by phone at 218-525-1422, or just stop me on the golf course.

Thanks, Chris. Are you getting email updates from Chris or other Northland staff members about happenings at the club? If not, simply click on the link we're providing below and complete the information request.
http://www.notjustemail.com/Form.php?provider_id=29

Link-Abelsen Win Member-Member

Rob Link and Jim Abelsen are the winners of the 2007 Northland Men's Member-Member event. There was a tie for second between the teams of Pat Henry-Bruce Stender and Bill Lanctot-Les Layton.
Early starters were called off the course because of repeated lightning strikes. When play did resume, it did so with a shotgun start. Link and Abelsen began their day on the 13th hole following a 90-minute weather delay. They began the day in a tie for third place.
Much of the event today was played in a persistent light rain, fog and wind. The overnight forecast had called for clear skies with highs in the 80s.

Tie For First In Member-Member

Two teams are tied after the first day of play in the 2007 Men's Member-Member event at Northland.
The teams of Walt Ledingham-Wade Nelson and Pat Henry-Bruce Stender each accumulated 10 points today. In the event scoring, a single point was awarded for each net birdie while a point was lost for each net bogie.
Two teams are tied at 8 points: Jim Abelsen-Rob Link and Joe Jeannette-Adolph Ojard.
Play will continue Sunday when the teams will compete in two-man best ball.

Members In The News

Thanks to Les Layton for the following story:

Three of Northland’s best young players learned in the Minnesota Amateur what the PGA Tour professionals face at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
Dan Moline, John Treacy and Andrew Layton qualified to battle the rock-hard greens and long holes, including some of the “Tiger tees” that Hazeltine built for U.S. Opens, PGA Championships and the Ryder Cup.
Treacy and Layton made the cut for the last day and faced the strong winds in the final round when half the field of Minnesota’s best amateurs didn’t break 80. Despite birdies on his first two holes, neither did Les Layton’s son, who finished low among the Northland crew despite three double bogeys on his last three holes. Former NCC member Reed Kohlquist broke 80 only one round.

Still Some Openings For Member-Member

The annual NCC Men's 4-ball, Member/Member event is this weekend and there are still openings to get in the field.

New this year is the opportunity to pick your partner. Keep in mind that one of the two partners must have an NCC handicap of 10 or less while the other must be 11 or higher. You can also sign up as an individual through the pro shop.

Saturday's play is match play vs par and Sunday is a two man best ball format. Tee times both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

There will be food on Friday night for the team discussion.

Women's Guest Day - Course Closed Until Noon

It's the annual Ladies Gala Guest Day at Northland, beginning at 7am this morning with a continental breakfast to be followed by a shotgun start at 8am. Over 65 women were scheduled to participate.
The course will open for member play at Noon - a check of ForeTees moments ago indicated all tee times have been taken from Noon until 2:30 this afternoon.

New Poll Question Posted

We've posted a new Quick Poll on the right side of the screen about the ForeTees tee time reservation system. Have you used the new service yet? We know many members now rely on the system to make their tee times. When you sign up for ForeTees, remember to submit your email address to receive confirmation about the time.
The service allows you to put together a group and to see who else is playing that day. You can even create your own buddy list to allow for easy pairing. Tee times can also be made weeks in advance. If you want to add a guest name, just click on one of the open spots and type in the name. If you're not seeing the ForeTees logo on the top right hand side of this page, it's possibly due to the screen size you've selected. If it's not visible, change your screen view or simply scroll down to the bottom of this page to find it and other features.
There are many great features of this system which is used by most of the top country clubs in the country. To learn more about ForeTees, here's a link to some frequently asked questions and answers. To sign up for the service, contact the pro shop for information about user names and passwords.

Upper Lakes Foods Outing - 120 Players - Course Closed From 11 - 6 Today

Northland will be closed for member play from 11am to 6pm today to accommodate the 120 players who will participate in the Upper Lakes Foods outing. There are tee times available this morning and again after the annual company outing.

Caddie Update - 67% Use

Dr. Kevin Treacy, NCC coordinator of the Evans Scholarship Program, has provided the following update on the club's caddie program:

In 2007, approximately 30 caddies returned from last year, and approximately 25 new caddies have joined the program. Quality of work has been addressed with the caddie orientation program, a shadow program for new caddies to follow veteran caddies; and an "adopt -a-caddie" initiative whereby volunteer member mentors have worked one-on-one with some of the new caddies. If you happen to take a caddie that seems to need additional help with quality of work, please let caddie-master Dan Mosley know, so additional attention may be given where needed. Since the opening event on May 19, through July 12, we have records on caddie turnout and job placement for 27 days. During these 27 days, there have been a total of 325 caddies showing up in hopes of getting a loop. They were successful 217 times, or 67%. They went home without getting out 108 times, or 33%. While it is encouraging that caddies are getting out most of the time, perhaps we can further reduce the frequency of caddies going home empty-handed. Our caddie master has done a nice job of tactfully inviting golfers to consider taking a caddie, and please do not take offense if you are approached with such a request. Better yet, if you know you are planning to play an 18-hole round, please consider calling ahead to request a caddie, which allows Dan to plan accordingly. There certainly are valid health reasons and time constraints that will warrant selecting a cart over a caddie, and some golfers will prefer carrying one's own bag. Nevertheless, the Northland caddie program provides a unique service to the community and promotes an interest in golf among our youth, which may help later membership drives. Please help support our caddie program by taking a caddie when feasible, and thank you for considering this request.

Breakfast Now Being Served On Weekends

Looking for a place to have breakfast on Saturday or Sunday morning? How about Northland? Here's a look at the new Breakfast Menu now available in the first level ballroom between 7 - 9am.

140 Registered For Tonight - Weather Will Not Cancel The Event

Even with the weather prediction calling for rain and possible thunderstorms, Fabulous Friday is going ahead as scheduled. According to the office, 140 people have registered for the event as of this morning. Because of the weather, plans are being made to hold the event in the first level ballroom. Activities begin at 5:30 with music scheduled to start at 7:30.

Superintendent Explains "Fast & Firm" Conditions On Golf Course

Northland Superintendent Chris Tritabaugh sent out an email to members today explaining the "fast & firm" conditions on the golf course. (The photo, while not recent, does show some of what Chris is writing about) Here's a portion of the message:
With the recent warm and dry spell you may have started to notice more and more brown on the golf course. Much of the brown color is due to the recent aerifying and verticutting we have done on many of the fairways. In other areas you are seeing brown because of a commitment to have Northland Country Club play, "fast & firm". While these conditions do not lend themselves to a lush green golf course, these conditions do allow the golf course to play in the manner Donald Ross intended.

The following is a quote from an email correspondence I had with the Executive Director of the Donald Ross Society, Michael J. Fay. "Regardless where Donald Ross built his courses the theme remained that the game was a ground game. This can be seen in the approach areas he built to most of his greens. There was invariably an opening through which the player could find the green with a shot that played to bounce and run to the surface. These approaches had to be hit with skill because if the player exceeded the green he was heavily penalized. The greens were watered back as early as 1910, but only syringed. This kept the surface hard. Anyone attacking a back pin on a Ross hole through the air ran the risk of one bounce and gone." "Essentially nothing has changed. Although the game has become more of an air game the courses are still set up to favor a game played close to the ground. Softening the approach areas and the greens only defeats the original intent. The air game is certainly favored by the professionals. They will ceaselessly throw darts at the flag from distances up to 200 yards. If you look closely at most of the TPC courses there is little or no option to this type of play. Most of the greens are elevated and surrounded by bunkers so there is no other option. Your average player has a handicap of 19 and hits the ball 225 off the tee with a slight fade. Most of your players are hitting 5 wood or a rescue club from 200 yards. Soft greens are not going to help them and soft approaches will only make matters worse."

As I first read his comments I was struck by how relevant the comments were to Northland Country Club. As if he was speaking about Northland specifically. From these comments you can understand why a Donald Ross golf course should play "fast & firm". These types of conditions make the game of golf much more interesting for both the low and high handicapper. For the low handicapper they are forced to play a variety of shots off the tee, from the fairway, and around the greens. The high handicapper is now getting more roll on their tee shots and will see some of their longer approach shots reach the green due to firm conditions. Along with good playing conditions a "fast & firm" and somewhat brown golf course is better for the turf and more environmentally friendly. Drier conditions do not favor disease as well as moist conditions do. This allows us to save on costly pesticide applications. Keeping the golf course firmer means using less water. Since Northland Country Club pays for our water this will allow using those funds in other areas.
Over time turfgrass species such as, Poa annua, not able to withstand drier conditions will be taken over by bentgrass and fescue varieties better able to handle the dry conditions. Bentgrasses and fescues are turfgrass species, which also better survive our difficult winter conditions. Thus, in the long run drier conditions in the summer will lead to better turf conditions coming out of winter. The biggest challenge of any golfing membership is to not associate the color brown with dead turf or a golf course in poor condition but rather a golf course set up to play with variety and maintained with and eye towards the environment. With "fast & firm" conditions you are experiencing the game of golf as was meant to be played.

Chris also took a moment in his email to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of his staff in maintaining the tremendous course conditions. Chris hopes members will take a moment to let the crew know how much we appreciate their efforts.

For more about dry conditions and turf management, here's an article originally published in 1983 by the USGA.

Master Plan Meeting Tonight

The organizational meeting of the newly created Master Plan Task Force will be held tonight at the club beginning at 5:30pm.
The five committees (Land Use, Golf Course, Buildings, Finance and By-Laws) will meet together tonight to discuss the goals and timeline for the planning process.
If you haven't yet volunteered to serve on one of the committees, you can still come to tonight's meeting to add your name to the list of members who have agreed to serve.

Format Change For Member - Member

A new format is being tried for this year's Men's Member-Member Tournament which will be played July 21-22.
In past years, two players were paired by the pro shop based on handicaps. This year, members are being allowed to choose their playing partner, provided one of the players is a 10 or less handicap and the other has a USGA Index of 11 or more.
If you are willing, the pro shop will still make a pairing for you. Contact Sarah or Joe at the pro shop to let them know of your intent to select your partner or whether you want to be placed into a player pool for selection.

Parent-Junior Tournament On Wednesday

This Wednesday, July 11th is the Parent/Junior Tournament. In the morning, we will have clinic and play day as usual. Starting after 4:00 pm, please schedule a tee time and come out for 3, 5, or 9 holes with your junior. The holes being played will either be 1-3, 1-5 or 1-9. This is a fun event to play in with your junior, so sign up now! For more information, please contact Sarah or Joe in the Golf Shop at 525.1970.

McGladrey Championship Ends In Playoff

The 2007 PGA McGladrey Team Championship event held at Northland Country Club today ended today in dramatic fashion, with two teams playing a sudden death playoff that ended with a birdie four on the 4th extra playoff hole.
The three-man team of Ken Buck, David Whittaker and Paul Nelson will now move on to a regional qualifying tournament in the Twin Cities on August 13. They will be joined in that event by Northland PGA Pro Joe O'Connor. The winner of the Twin Cities event will go on to the national finals at Pinehurst in North Carolina on September 10.
In today's format, each of the players was allowed 50% of their USGA Handicap, and each player's ball and score had to count on at least three of the 18 holes of competition. The Buck, Whittaker, Nelson team ended the event with a 65, 6 under par and good enough for a tie with the team of Tom Cartier, Jim Abelsen and Tim Smith.
The two teams began the playoff on the first hole and each team ended up with pars of the first three holes. On the par-5 fourth hole, both Whittaker and Buck reached the green in two. The Cartier, Abelsen, Smith team was unable to make birdie, giving the win to their opponents.
There were seven 3-man teams and a 3-woman team in today's event. Thanks to all who played and thanks to Jim Denney and RSM McGladrey for hosting the event at Northland.

Kids Pool Camp Starts July 10

WHO: Any NCC Golf or Pool / Tennis Members with kids ranging from ages five to ten who have mastered basic swimming techniques. A private lifeguard is devoted to their safety and care during the kids' camp sessions. WHAT: NCC KIDS POOL CAMP on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1pm to 4:30 pm. WHEN: Reserve now for Tuesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 12. Email Membership Director Ann Robertson or visit Pool Director Jen Pillsbury (see her poolside) for more information. arobertson@northlandcountryclub.com (or call 428-5178) jennifer.pillsbury@gmail.com (or see her poolside) WHERE: On the days your kids are pre-registered for camp, simply have them sign in at the pool with Jen Pillsbury or camp director, Emily. WHY: To keep you sane and the kids entertained... You relax, play or just escape for a few hours while your kids have fun in the sun. COST: Cost of the 3.5 hour session is $12. Or you may pay $5 per hour to attend just part of the session. No charge for cancellations made 24 hours in advance. NOTE: Space is limited to the first five kids who sign up for each session. If advance reservations exceed available openings, a second lifeguard may be added. The kids' day camp will not be run on days the pool is closed due to inclement weather. Call 218-525-1941 if you have questions regarding pool hours.

Reservations Please - Limited Menu Still Drawing Full House

Even though a limited food menu will be used for about a week to allow for additional training, there are few openings for dinner at Northland tonight and Friday night; in fact, a check with the office revealed there are no openings before 7:30 either night, and Saturday reservations are also running short. If you'd like to be among the first to dine in the new clubhouse, it would be wise to call as soon as possible to reserve your table. Please keep in mind there are also three separate private dining areas that are available. The Champion's Room will seat a group of 8-10; the Legend's Room will seat 16-20; the Donald Ross Room will seat nearly 40 guests for dinner.
Seating in the Fireside Room will accommodate about 50 people. There is also seating on each of the second floor verandas. Even with all of these options, it's obvious the new Northland is generating a great deal of excitement among members and the community.

59 Tee Off In Junior Invite

The first round of the Northland Junior Invitational Golf Tournament is concluding this morning; 59 players from across the region began play at 7:30 this morning.
Players from 11 to 17 are entered in the two day event. Following play today, the players will be grouped into flights. The tournament concludes tomorrow, with tee times again beginning at 7:30. According to the pro shop, just a single girl was entered this year.

Superintendent Explains Fairway Verti-Cutting - Sign Up For Automatic E-mail Updates

If you've been on the golf course this past week, you've noticed more work on the fairways. Superintendent Chris Tritabaugh explains what's going on in this notice to all members:

The last few days I have received many inquiries on the aerification and verti-cutting process we are doing on the fairways. This process should be completed on Thursday. While there is a fair amount of surface disruption you will notice the fairways done last week are already beginning to heal. The rain from yesterday coupled with warmth, sun, and the fertilizer application being made after the process is finished will help the fairways to fully heal in one to two weeks. The goal of the aerification process is to open avenues in the soil, which will allow oxygen, water, and nutrients to reach greater depths. These avenues will also allow the roots a place to grow. Excess root grow coupled with oxygen, water, and nutrients lead to a healthier plant, which leads to better quality fairways. Processes like this are what allow us to maintain top quality fairways through out the golf season. As with every cultural practice we do on the golf course a minor inconvenience reaps a big reward of better turf quality. As always please feel free to contact me at: ctritabaugh@northlandcountryclub.com with any questions or comments; or just stop me on the golf course. I will do my best to answer any questions you might have.

Chris also reminds members to follow the cart etiquette that has been posted on the golf carts. Please remind your children and guests that cart paths should be used and that the green/white stakes indicate areas that should be avoided.

Here's another reminder that you can receive automatic e-mail updates about events at Northland, including notices from the pro shop, events coordinator and the course superintendent. Sign up procedures are very simple. Just go to this link:

http://www.notjustemail.com/Form.php?provider_id=29

NCC Motorcycle Club?

Look around the parking lot at Northland some days and you'll see quite a few motorcycles - more and more members are riding bikes which has prompted some post-golf discussion about an organized member's ride and golf outing. There's no leader of this pack, but if you're interested in starting a group that would ride to an area golf course while your clubs, etc., were driven separately, call the pro shop and let them know that you'd likely participate in such an outing. Of course, non-bikers could also participate in the golf, either by catching a ride or arriving in their more conventional vehicles. It's likely an after-golf dinner would also be included before heading for home.

Ahhhh - Now That Felt Good!!

It was close to 88 degrees when this photo was taken this afternoon. Highs for the next several days will be in the 80's....have you tried the new pool yet?

Near Record Score For Men's Event

The annual 4th of July men's golf event at Northland began with a shotgun start under cloudless blue skies at 8am this morning and concluded with a near record score for the Red, White & Blue format - near record, because no one could remember whether any lower score had ever been posted for the format.
Pro Joe O'Connor had the entire pro shop staff was outfitted in red, white and blue shirts this morning - shown here are Taylor Norton and Caddie Master Dan Mosely. The entire caddie corp was used by the members today - a fact noted following the event by Evans Scholarship coordinator Dr. Kevin Treacy.
Sixteen teams competed in this year's event. The winning score was 19 under par, just a single stroke in from of the second place finishers. In the format, one ball counted from the blue tees, two from the white and three from the red. Pictured at the right are three members of the winning team: Dr. Wade Nelson, Duke Skorich and Bill Juntunen - Dr. Upali Aturaliya was not available for the photo. Thanks to all members who played today.